DAESH still has 500 active militants in Iraq
BAGHDAD - The Daesh terror group still has 500 militants active in Iraq, senior Iraqi military official General Qais al-Mohamadawi said.The group's terrorist cells continue to launch sporadic attacks in the country. The Iraqi general stressed that Daesh - now based in remote hideouts in the desert and in the mountains - has "lost its ability to attract new recruits".
The United Nations estimated in a report released last month that Daesh still has "5,000 to 7,000 members" in Iraq and neighboring Syria. Daesh terrorists launched their self-proclaimed "caliphate" in both countries in 2014 in a campaign marked by brutality, mass killings, torture, rape and slavery.
With thousands of suspected Daesh terrorists and their families now held in vast detention camps, US General Michael Kurilla, head of Central Command, warned of the lingering threat of an "army of Isis (Daesh) in detention".
According to information from intelligence agencies, the total number of ISIS members does not exceed 400-500 fighters, in three or four provinces. The group has lost its ability to attract new recruits.
Last month's United Nations report reports that Daesh has been weakened and almost completely defeated thanks to the operations of the Iraqi Resistance. The group still operates cells of around 15-30 individuals across Syria and continues "guerrilla tactics" against government forces, Resistance and civilians. In Iraq, ISIS cells operate in rural mountain areas, "leveraging the porous Iraqi-Syrian border and maintaining maneuverability to evade attacks," the UN report said.
